diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce312a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+## 2026-02-01 - Stack Allocation for Status Bar
+**Learning:** `drawstatusbar` in `bar.c` is a hot path called frequently. It was using `malloc` for a string buffer (`stext`) that is globally bounded to 1024 bytes.
+**Action:** Use stack allocation (`char buf[1024]`) for strings <= 1024 bytes to avoid malloc overhead and fragmentation. Add a fallback to `malloc` for safety.
diff --git a/bar.c b/bar.c
index 8476144..aae6762 100644
--- a/bar.c
+++ b/bar.c
@@ -54,13 +54,18 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     int cmdcounter;
     short isCode = 0;
     char *text;
-    char *p;
+    char *p = NULL;
+    char buf[1024];
 
     len = strlen(stext) + 1;
-    if (!(text = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * len))) {
-        die("malloc");
+    if (len > sizeof(buf)) {
+        if (!(text = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * len))) {
+            die("malloc");
+        }
+        p = text;
+    } else {
+        text = buf;
     }
-    p = text;
     memcpy(text, stext, len);
 
     /* compute width of the status text */
@@ -194,7 +199,8 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     }
 
     drw_setscheme(drw, statusscheme);
-    free(p);
+    if (p)
+        free(p);
 
     return ret;
 }